Teen Titans: Titans Forever
by Cleave Wright
Summary: In a time that might have been, history moved on, and so did the heroes. In the wake of history, new heroes start their new lives, while others continue with their own. In a time that might have been, there are still the Titans.


_**Everything New **_

Every word I heard for all of October was "bluh". And everything my mom said sounded like a loud "scree". Then again that was pretty par for course. Every time I went out to do my usual rounds I saw this look in her eyes that said "Why are you here?"

I thought about that for a while and decided that I didn't know. _I remember the night it happened. Robbery at the old Zelazny Jewelry store. Three thugs, dumb, ugly, late 20's. I was crouched on a street light like a goof and spotted them. _Why was I still with her, or anywhere at all. She didn't want me, and no one else knew I existed. _I hit the first with the boxing glove arrow, a total one punch move. The next got it from the club arrow, the blunt stone tip cracking his wrist, making him drop his gun before the trigger got pulled. I jumped off, flipped, and both idiots got a face full of foot. That was that._ Or so I thought.

It was November when I got the call. She called herself Kid Devil, a name which rung a bell. She said she was the distant cousin of the original or something like that. Patty, as she told me to call her, said my fight with the Quarterback caught someone's attention. _Oh lord, the Quarterback. Some weird Sportsmaster off shoot or something. He was built like a brick shit house and moved like a bull. He also had exploding footballs for some insane reason… then again I have trick arrows, so I guess I can't judge. _Due to this, I was asked to be taken to a secret location for what she called "auditions". _He was trying to assassinate a local couch who had been caught up in some money laundering scandal of some sort. The meathead said he was "RUINING THE GAME" right before the trip arrow brought him down in the streets. He got up, tearing the ropes apart, soon enough but didn't expect a taser arrow next. _She asked me if I was in. I told her I would never be out. _It didn't stop him, and one of his dumb footballs knocked me off of my perch and destroyed a few beams of an under construction building. I ended the whole thing with a flash arrow, blinding him, and then using a concussion arrow to knock the lump into lamp post. He finally gave out and just sat there like a smear on the sidewalk. _She giggled.

Mom was all too ready to have me out of her hair for a bit, so she packed my things, costume and supplies and everything, and basically tapped her foot into the ground until the car pulled it. It was an unassuming type of car, the kind you know someone that doesn't want to be seen is rolling in. I didn't ever get a look at the driver, but he took me to the airport, and a small plane too me to a warehouse a state or two away. I never saw the pilot either, if I recall. Anyway, the warehouse was oddly placed, almost hidden. I don't know if warehouse was the right word anymore, because it looked more like a very new and under furnished mansion on the inside.

After navigating through a few rooms I found the one hallway with a door entitled "TRY OUTS". I sat in one of the chairs close by and waited for a moment before the door creaked open out walked someone that made my heart race. It was Robin of all people. Robin the Boy fucking Wonder. I got up, dazed, and offered to shake his hand. He looked confused and said "No need for that. Come on, why are you wasting time, let's see if you're up to snuff." I really didn't see that coming. I knew this Robin was a little bit of a snob… but wow. When we got in the room he had targets and dummies set up. Pretty standard unstandard set up. "For the sake of formalities: Code name and, optionally, real name."

That was code for "Do you trust me?" As such I said "Speedy, Jack Ludlow Baron." Robin nodded, his weird green mask almost shining in the light. I did a normal routine, jumping around and showing off the trick arrows, nothing big. He sat there and contemplated for a moment. Faked contemplation at least.

"You're in."

"In what? What even is this?"

"What in the hell do you think it is? It's been too long since the last group. We're forming a new Teen Titans."

The obviousness of this hit me. He had to be, what, 15 or 16? I am 16 myself, driver's license and all. "Why? Is this about tradition or something?"

"You ask a lot of questions. TT. Not the worst thing in the world. And yes, it is. Every generation needs a group of Titans."

"So it might as well be us?"

"Yes. If not us, then no one."

We stood in silence for a moment, before I coughed and he told me to take a seat. I'd be helping him judge or something similar. After waiting a few minutes in a few thick silence someone else showed up. She was 5'1, perky, and came in with a giant smile on her face and what looked like Wonder Woman's symbol on her shirt. Jeans, a jacket and a red shirt with that weird golden symbol on it. Her hair was cut short, longer than mine, but still short.

"Oh," Robin started, sizing her up. "Wonder Lass, was it?"

"Yes! Wonder Lass, the Girl of Your Dreams!"

"That's a little bombastic. Keep the spirit."

"Wait," I cut in. "What happened to Wonder Girl?"

"The title is taken still. Not that in really matters at all. I'm Wonder Lass, she's Wonder Girl, big damned difference!"

"Code name and, optionally, your real name." Cold, collected Boy Wonder.

"Oh! Wonder Lass, um, like you said. I'm Becky too. Becky Coolridge."

With that she started a simple showing of her powers, which basically amounted to highly augmented strength and agility, also meaning she could jump like no one's business. Robin and I agreed that she was a keeper.

Next was someone we barely got to meet. It was Kid Flash of all people, in the old yellow outfit with red lightening and such. He ran in, shook our hands nearly off and said something very much like "Oh sorry, but Captain Cold is acting up and me and dad are working on him, I might stop by later but I hope you'll have me bye" and then zipped off like he was never there. I blinked for a few moments, wondering what just happened while Robin added him to the roster under "Kid Flash, Jai West."

Another quick visitor was the new Supergirl. She appeared damn near out of nowhere and gave us the handshake treatment and only said "Do try and be useful," before disappearing to go punch a nebula in the face or something. Robin added her to the roster with no name, and he explained to me that in the few months that this Supergirl 'existed' that she'd running herself ragged. Being a clone must have some shitty feelings to go with it. I almost felt sorry for her.

Next was the girl that actually found my number and called. Kid Devil was dressed in a lot of black with some red to go with it. It looked like some kind of acrobatic cat suit or something, loaded down with little pockets filled with god knows what. Her hair was a done up tangle, colored red and some kind of purple. Robin told me to step up, and I did. The fight was short, mostly because I didn't want to hurt her. _She threw down a smoke bomb, obscuring my vision and disarmed me before I could adjust. We could have fought hand-to-hand, sure, but there was no point in it. The look on her face was like she was ready to eat me alive. I wouldn't have minded. _Prudence "Patty" Bloomberg is her name.

The last one to come in was Aqualad, who induced himself as he walked in. His name is Jackson Hyde, which I said was a cool name. He just nodded. I remember when he used to have dreadlocks, now his hair was cut as close to his scalp as possible. I'll admit his tattoos are still a little intense. I took a moment to actually wonder if he was still even a teen but stopped when Robin shook his hand and said "Welcome to it. Everyone passed with dull, but acceptable, colors."

After another hour or so everyone was gathered together, the seven of us. The air was odd, like everyone was expecting something else. And they probably were. We all stood around and gabbed at nothing at all, really. Saying hello to each other and stating powers, swapping team ups, whatever. Supergirl was the first to go, saying something along the lines of "I can hear someone calling for me." Robin gave her a communicator before she left, she slipped it into a little pouch in her belt and zoomed away. I may or may not have looked at her skirt as such flew away, and may or may not have been disappointed to see bike shorts underneath it. Kid Flash zipped away, saying he needed to go make a heart delivery, Aqualad left next, I think, because he was silent when he did so. Wonder Lass left next, saying she prior business with chariot lessons, gave Patty a big hug that I'm amazed didn't crush the girl and then high tailed it.

Patty left after that as well, saying she needed to get home before someone threw a fit. Which left me and Robin. "Do you want to live here?"

"What?"

"I asked you a simple question, try and keep up."

"What? I- yes. I mean, can I?"

"Would I ask if I didn't intend for it to happen. Your mother would probably be relived as it is, finally getting whatever was left of the Spider out of her life."

My heart sank and I just looked at him with whatever disdain I could muster. "The Spider?"

"Don't play dumb, Baron. Your father is the Spider. For whatever time he spent with you, he taught you how to use a bow. He taught you how to be a new age archer. It's easy to see. The way you hold it and fire. You studied your father, and then moved onto the Arrows and their usage of technology." He stated everything so matter-of-factly I was freaked into silence. He moved around the room, hands behind his back. "But you didn't want to be your father, no. You wanted to be the opposite. So, you wanted to be a superhero. The old name of Speedy was perfectly open after the last 'crisis', so you use the money your father left you and make a suit, make arrows and use competitions to fund your little late night habit." He stopped and looked right at me. "Your mother wants nothing to do with you. Funny how that works out. You'll be living here from now on, along with some of the others, then."

"But-but- wait. Others?"

"Not all of us have a place we care to call home. Supergirl, Kid Devil. You get the point."

"Shit… right, fine. You probably already made the arrangements, huh?"

"I always do. The rest of your things will be here soon enough."

And that was that. He left soon after, muttering about a pig needing to be stuck. I was left alone in that house. I've never felt so free.

December came really soon and Patty and Supergirl moved in quick. Everyone hung around at the H.Q. a lot, a we all started getting the slightest feels for the other. We weren't a team, oh no. We were hardly even friends, yet. The training was tortuous. Supergirl kept trying to pull everyone's weight and getting zapped down while we tried to get a new act together. She wasn't as strong as Superman or Superwoman yet, and wouldn't be for a long time, we gathered. Eventually she would actually speak to me after a week or so of not trying to get her to do anything, but just making passing comments. It was enough to get her to stop trying to do the work of five specialized people at once. _Aqualad spotted the new Chemo out in the Atlantic, and Robin decided it'd be good for a practice run. Supergirl tried to bust him open, going against everything I or Robin or anyone else said. This Chemo had some kind of Kryptonite residue on it so Supergirl dropped like a rock, forcing Becky to fetch her while Aqualad used some whales to displace a large tidal wave to Chemo while Robin and Patty planted charges while it was stunned. Jai, as he let everyone call him, made a whirlpool around the giant mass of gelatinous acid and let it trip. The charges went off, Becky plucked Robin and Patty off of Chemo before the explosions started and I hit the monster's programming and stabilizer core before it could reform. Robin bitched up and down the next day about his minor burns which could have been prevented if Supergirl just had waited._ I wonder how Superwoman feels about how her clone turned out.

She still didn't "open up" at all, but did start going by Cass near Christmas, and told us she was given the name Kas'El as a gift from Superman. She was still, and is still, a pain but it's nice to call her something other than Supergirl.

We didn't spend Christmas as a team, thank god. I stayed at the mansion watching movies while everyone else was off doing something with their families or other friends.

Our first real mission came when word got around about some idiot encasing a small, coastal city in thick darkness on the eve of New Year's Eve. Everyone else was busy, so we jumped in. After using Cass' heat vision and my sunspot arrows we made it through the shadow dome and quickly enough met with one Doctor Dark, self proclaimed Surgeon of Shadows. The fight was quick. _He controlled all the shadows and dark in the area, so basically the whole city was his weapon. Cass needed sunlight, and did we, so Cass, Becky, Jai and I all dealt with punching as many holes into the dome as possible, while Robin, Patty and Jackson distracted Dark. Once Cass had a solar boost, and Dark distracted by a flurry of flares from Patty and sunspot arrows, all it took was one hit to the jaw from a pissed off girl with thermonuclear capabilities to end it. We saved the town, not that we got much thanks for it. _Now, an hour or so till New Year's, we just finished having a party celebrating our first successful public outing. It was a quick, loud mess. Everyone is either outside, prowling, or inside, asleep.

Actually, shit, Patty is still up and she wants me to go on patrol with her. Might as well. It's a new year, and I have a new life. Time to see what I can make of it.

Happy New Years.

Maybe I'll get to see the year turn with her.


End file.
